Allowing clubs to block rule changes and money to delay punishments feeds the perception that the same rules do not apply to everyone.
Author: RORY SMITH
Swedish Soccer Prioritized Fans Over Finances. Now, Business Is Booming.
While most of Europe’s leagues engage in a Sisyphean quest to source as much money as possible, Sweden has chosen a different model. But its rewards come with risk.
Xabi Alonso Isn’t Coming to Save Your Team. Not Yet.
The patience of Alonso, the Bayer Leverkusen manager, says a lot about him, and just as much about a sport perpetually chasing the next big thing.
Megan Rapinoe, Emma Hayes and a Women’s Soccer Crossroads
Rapinoe, who helped define U.S. soccer for a decade, is retiring after this week’s N.W.S.L. final. Hayes, the Chelsea coach, will try to put her stamp on it next.
Is Fluminense the Team of the Future?
A soccer revolution started with a text message, but the broader game wants proof. A win in the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday might provide it.
At Barcelona, Timing Is Everything
The Barcelona team that faces Real Madrid in Saturday’s Clásico will be marked by youth, mostly because the club’s dire straits meant it had to be.
When Saying Nothing Is Saying Something
Leagues and teams probably would have preferred not to take a public position on the Israel-Hamas war. That they could not avoid doing so is their own fault.
Can This Man Make Soccer Smarter?
Ian Graham helped transform Liverpool from a faded giant into soccer’s most cutting-edge club. Now he wants to do the same for everyone else.
At Site Where Sycamore Gap Tree Fell, an Unanswered Question: Why?
A week after someone cut down the iconic tree at Sycamore Gap, the police and local residents appear no closer to answering the most persistent question: Why?
Liverpool, V.A.R. and the Problem With Process
If process and hubris trump getting calls right, the system has broken down.